Hen or Roo? 10 Ways to Sex Chicks

There are ways to figure out if you have pullet (female) or cockerel (male) chicks, but how accurate are these methods? Some are old wives tales while others are proven methods, but you may need to have the experience or $$ to try it out.

Before we start I want to go over words you may not have heard before. I still get asked by lots of people buying chicks what 'that' means. If you have purchased chicks you may have heard them but not understood really what they meant, or maybe you are in the market of buying chicks but haven't done the deed yet.

Pullet - female chicks are called pullets, the term is usually used from the age of 6 weeks to around 20 weeks when they start laying. When a pullet comes of laying age she is then considered a hen.

Cockerel - male chicks are called cockerels, the term is used if a rooster is under a year old.

Straight Run - chicks are chicks that are not sexed before they're sold. Rather, they are sold as a mix of male and female chicks. Ideally, 50% of all straight run chicks would be pullets, however that is not always the case.

I sometimes get asked if I can help check if a chick is a pullet or cockerel, but unfortunately it's a hard question to answer. There is nothing visually noticeable on the outside that helps you sex chicks. So, I've created this article to help go over some ways in which you can sex your chicks that may help you determine whether they are girls or boys.

Vent Sexing

I would suggest not trying this as you are capable of really hurting the chicks. This is a "tried and true method" done by the professionals.

Vent sexing is an incredibly accurate way to see if your chicks are pullets or cockerels. This is how hatcheries sex chicks before shipping them out. Hatcheries do have professional chick vent sexers who get it right over 90% of the time. As far as we're concerned I don't think this is something you or I can/should do. It is easy to injure the chick if you don't really know what you are doing, so I would suggest leaving it to the more experienced.

When you vent sex, you squeeze the feces out of the chick, which will open up the chick's vent and lets you see if the chick has a small 'bump' inside. Cockerels have bumps, pullets do not.

For us, the best way to sex chicks seems to be based on watching behavior, appearance, attitude, and trying some old wives tales. 

I've been dealing more with silkies lately, and people ask me often about sexing them and I state that I don't know for sure until they crow, or lay an egg. Sometimes in a flock with multiple roosters, beta roosters will not crow and generally act more like a hen to stay below the alphas radar. I've seen video of people that have 4 week old chicks trying to crow and others don't hear a cockerel crow till 12 weeks of age. I've even spoken to people that had a rooster for over a year before it started crowing. I'm sure that's a very rare occurrence though. Hens won't start laying till at least 18 weeks of age and depending on the breed, late bloomers such as silkies can take as long as 8-12 months of age.

Wing Sexing

One method that does work on some breeds is wing sexing, but it's a very time sensitive method of sexing chicks. Wing sexing can only be done within the first 48 hours after the chick hatches. Pullets' wing feathers are two different lengths while a cockerels' are the same length. This method is very accurate with some breeds, but does not work with all breeds. 

The photo shows what to look for; males will have wings that go straight across, whereas pullets will have longer and shorter feathers on the wing.

I don't think this worked on my chicks I just hatched out because of the 10... 9 were girls and 1 was a boy. I don't think I'm that lucky. So we shall see I guess!

Genetic Testing

One of the most accurate ways of knowing whether your chick is a pullet or cockerel is by getting a DNA test done. I believe there are a few places you can do this. The one I have used and have had zero issues with is IQ Bird Testing. They actually do many other things, but the sexing test price ranges from $13.99 to $15.99 this is due to whether it is a blood test, feather test, or egg shell test.

I do this for my silkies and if I end up rehoming them, that is added into their price as that person is guaranteed to have a pullet which is an almost impossible guarantee for a silkie chick. They are always sold as straight run unless they are sex-linked in color or have been DNA tested.

Now let's move onto some that may be a little less accurate, but have enough relevance in my opinion to be listed as a possible way to sex your chicks.

Hold A Chick Upside Down

At my previous job when I would assist in selling chicks, I had several customers over a period of time ask me if I could hold the chick upside down by its legs so they could see if it was a pullet, or cockerel.

The idea is a pullet will just be there upside down and a cockerel will pull up to its feet trying to correct its position. This is based on behavior so you would think that it's pretty accurate, but I'm not completely sold on it because when I tried it, the chicks did not always do the same thing every time.

Or they tried to come up for a quick second and then stop and hang there. Does that mean it's a cockerel, or is it a pullet? I also don't really like turning them upside down because they don't know what's going on.  I have tried this, but I do not do this anymore. I did not find it accurate enough to keep trying, but I know some old school ranchers that would disagree.

The Hat Trick

I have read that if you wave a hat above your chicks and then drop it in the run where they are, pullets/hens will freeze or run and hide and cockerels/roosters will likely run over to the hat, stand alert, and look in the sky for more threats. Again, this is based on behavior because males should be brave and are protectors of the flock. I mean, it's in their DNA.

I have never tried this... but I think I will try it with my full size flock and see what happens. Sometimes in a brooder when you stick your hand in you will have a chick come charging at your hand while others flee. I believe the majority of those would be males. The issue with basing sex of of behavior is that there are pullets that are brave and have quite the attitude when they should be just the opposite. It's not as common though.

Gold Ring Test

When I heard of doing this for chicks, my pregnancies immediately came to mind. I heard of this while pregnant with my first child and had tried it, I did it again with my second and I will say I am 2 for 2. 

You hang a gold ring from a string, I believe even a chain will work and place it above the chick. If it is a girl it will start swinging in circles, if it rocks back and forth it is a boy. I have heard of people that have done this and it has be correct!

I have not tried this personally with my chicks yet, but may give this a shot and see what happens, I mean what do you have to lose right?

These next ways to possibly determine your chicks sex deal with observation and time. 

Comb Size

Sometimes this can be seen very early on, though by 4-6 weeks you should definitely have a noticeable comb on a young cockerel. I have had chicks just a few days old sporting combs. It's adorable and usually sad for me as I'm hoping all my chicks are pullets.

This is all determinant of the breed of course. Some breeds hens have pretty large combs and waddles and some people will think they're a rooster solely for those reasons. This is a more ideal method when you have several chicks of the same breed because they are easier to compare to each other.

Hackle & Saddle Feathers

Around 10 weeks or so, chicks will start developing a noticeable difference in the feathers at the base of their neck (hackle feathers) and on their back where the back meets their tail (saddle feathers). A cockerels feathers will be pointy and the pullet will have rounded. Some cockerels will quickly show signs of a separate colorful tail feather that points out further or even sticks up some.

Leg Thickness

Cockerel/Rooster legs will be thicker early on. Some cockerels will even have small spurs developing on the back of their legs which may help you identify them early. With that being said, some breeds such as the Mottled Java or even the Aloha hens I had, had small points on their legs where spurs would be if they were roosters. So again I feel this is better when you have chicks of the same breed and age to compare. In the photo you can tell that the young rooster has thicker legs and spurs (points) sticking out on the back side of his legs, where the hen does not.

Behavioral Sexing

Overall behavior is a great indicator. Rooster are more inquisitive, more likely to jump up on things to get a better view, they tend to stand more upright and stand proud and strut. Is that not where the term 'cock of the walk' comes from?

Pullets chests are usually forward and not upright, they are seemingly daintier, which is a little hard to explain, but as you watch them interact and play you understand more of what I mean by that.

My Personal Experience With Behavioral Sexing

My first chickens I bought at laying age, so I didn't have much experience with chicks. My first set of chicks were 4 silkies from a breeder an hour away. They were so much fun and I loved that my brooder was clear so we could watch them almost constantly. They say it's 50/50 so that is why I got 4... two had to be girls right? I tried wing sexing and the upside down chick method and I really just didn't know even after doing those. As they got a little older I could see a couple chest bumping while the other two didn't seem to care. They would chase each other around the brooder, flap, and play. It was lovely watching.

When we started taking supervised trips out into the yard I noticed three of them hung out together more than the one, but they all still were together moving about the yard. I noticed them playing and chasing, chest bumping and I'd even seen one stand on the others neck for several seconds before it got off. I thought, "Okay, well that's a boy." and considering what it was doing to the other, I assumed the other would be a boy too... which is one I thought was a girl. I posted pictures, asking people what they thought and of course silkies are really just impossible to know.

Finally another chicken lover and now friend had pointed me to IQ Bird Testing and I decided to do all 4 just so I would know and could start rehoming boys. I lived in the city and in an HOA at the time and was really worried they'd start crowing before I could get them rehomed. Even with the little experience I had and just the Facebook Groups and research I was doing, I feel like I knew, but was lying to myself because I didn't want it to be true.

So after just over a week of sending out the DNA tests I received an email. 3 boys and 1 girl, I was crushed. She would have no sibling/friend, but it truly felt like I knew it already. It all made sense thinking about it and looking back at all their interactions. I didn't really have any experience with them at the time, but it was so educational for me, I soaked it all in and just thought, "It was so obvious. Knowing for sure now, it was so obvious." I think I just wanted there to be two girls and didn't want to accept the truth.

I did find her a friend finally. I had to buy a pair. Can you tell which one is the cockerel? Oh and Ellie, my Salmon Favorelle is in the back doing her shark attack move.

And there you have it! I hope you find one of these methods useful, or maybe even several. At the very least they can be fun to try. We band them, or write down the outcomes and see if we got it right down the road, or if we were way off. If you're wanting 100% accuracy though, I'd do the DNA testing. If it doesn't matter and you can wait, just wait. Turn it into a game for the whole family. That's what we usually do!